1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is a child resistant safety container with a stored drawer of a medicine dispensing blister pack. A compound motion, involving pushing the drawer inward, combined with moving a latching trigger located on the exterior of the safety container, is require to release the drawer containing the blister pack.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
U.S. Pat. No. B 536,923 to Edward Mayled describes a package having an improved means for releasably retaining the components of the package in assembly. Known similar package constructions require the use of additional material and necessitate the performance of additional manufacturing operations in order to provide closure flaps situated at opposite ends of a sleeve which is adapted to support a removable tray therein. The package according to the subject invention is of relatively simple construction, as well as being more economical than known similar packages. According to the subject invention, the improved package comprises a container and an enclosure having at least one open end. The container is adapted to be inserted into or removed from the enclosure through at least one open end thereof. The container and the enclosure are of substantially equal dimension and have cooperating means adapted to provide a positive connection between the container and the enclosure whereby the container is releasably retained within the enclosure until the cooperating means are disengaged by a user.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,429,426 to Otto Wolf and Otto Weller describe a package for discrete articles. An outer sleeve of substantially rectangular cross-section has at least one open end. An inner receptacle is slidably received in the outer sleeve and comprises a first member which has a side provided with at least one open recess, and a second recess which overlies this side and is sealingly connected to the first member so as to define with this open recess a sealed chamber within which an article to be packaged is to be accommodated.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,350 to William Horvath describes a snap lock and squeeze open slide top container that has a small centered catch depending from the inner face of the cover. The edge of the catch forms with the closed end of the cover a slot which accommodates the rear edge of the drawer portion of the container. The profile of the catch is tapered, forming an inclined plane directed to the front end of the container. The cover and drawer are slidably engaged by lateral meshing flanges which are interrupted near the closed end to provide slight clearances between the inside of the cover and the outside of the drawer. These clearances, together with an inverted V-shaped cut centered in the rear skirt of the cover, permit the cover to bow up when the sides are squeezed, releasing the edge of the drawer portion from the slot formed by the catch, to open the drawer. When the drawer is closed, the edge portion rides forward along the inclined plane depending from the cover, engaging the slot with a click, to lock the container closed. To prevent spillage, the opening of the drawer is limited by a pair of small stops depending from the inner face if the cover near each sidewall, which ride in elongated recesses in the lateral walls.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,630 to Otto Phillips describes a sliding cover safety package including a container having a cover mounted thereon for slidable movement between open and closed positions with respect to the container. The container and cover are provided with locking lugs having a locked position when the cover is closed in which the cover is locked against movement from its closed position with respect to the container, and an unlocked position when the cover is closed in which the cover is locked against movement from its closed position with respect to the container, and an unlocked position when the cover is closed in which the cover can slide with respect to the container to its open position. The locking lugs are moveable between the locked and unlocked positions by axial movement of the cover with respect to the container. Resilient biasing members is engaged between the container and cover to bias the locking lugs to the locked position such that the cover can slide from its closed position with respect to the container only after axial movement of the cover with respect to the container against the biasing members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,332 to James David McMaster describes a secret compartment case having a flexible housing, an inner drawer and an outer drawer, the flexible housing having a release member formed therewith for operatively connecting the inner drawer with the housing, the inner drawer being releasable from the housing to allow movement from a secured to an unsecured position when the outer drawer is moved from the shut position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,422 to Bernard Kotyuk describes a pill package of the type including child-proof features makes use of the standard blister card for mounting the pills. A plastic shield is constructed to provide a slidable mating relationship with the blister card in an unlocked position and the car and shield together defining locking means wherein both locked and unlocked positions can be assumed between the card and the shield. As in all conventional blister cards, an access means construction is included, but in the structure of the present invention, the access means is unexposed when the card and shield are in the locked position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,915 to Walter G. Berghahn describes a child resistant package having an outer container and an inner product supporting tray; the inner tray is adapted to be inserted into the container to a locked position and removed therefrom by disengaging a locking means and withdrawing the tray; the inner tray is disengaged from the container by pressing inwardly a pair of flexible tabs formed at the back end of the side walls of the tray; in a preferred embodiment a blister pack containing tablets is disposed on the product tray and the tray bottom is provided with holes through which the tablets in the blister pack may be pushed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,819 to Thomas K. Kelly describes a tablet container having a cover and a sliding tray is used for dispensing birth control tablets for either a twenty-one-day ar twenty-eight-day cycle. Normally, the tray does not slide completely out of the cover and is stabilized with respect thereto when open. The case resembles a cosmetics compact and is reusable in that once birth control tablets contained in a blister pack are used up, a new blister pack may easily be inserted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,137 to Jack Weinstein describes an invention directed toward a child resistant locking slide box that is opened by deforming a locking tab on the slide box drawer that positively engages the surrounding cover. There are tracks on the inside surfaces of the cover side walls that positively engage and slide along tracks positioned on the outside surfaces of the drawer side walls. The engagement of the cover and draw tracks allow only for the respective lateral movement of the cover across the drawer. The lateral movement of the cover allowed by the tracks is restricted in one direction by the cover end tabs, and in the other direction by the drawer lockin tab.
The drawer locking tab has a step that overlaps the cover surface. To open the slid box the cover tab must first be deformed backward, removing the step from above the cover, and then downward so that the whole locking tab is beneath the cover. Once the draw tab is below the cover, the drawer can be pushed past the cover, exposing the contents of the drawer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,291 to Larry C. Sledge describes a child-resistant, elderly friendly dispensing container which comprises a housing having an opening in its top wall and a drawer which slidably fits into the housing. The drawer has a front cavity section and a rear latch section. The latch section includes a horizontally disposed resilient panel formed with an upward button which, when the drawer is closed, extend up through the opening in the top wall of the housing and forms an automatic latch, holding the drawer closed. In order to open the drawer, the button bust be depressed and, at the same time, the drawer must be pulled out from the housing. The top of the housing is formed, adjacent the opening for the button, with a relief zone into which the button moves when the drawer is in dispensing position and blocks further opening.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,187 to Stanley Poncetta et al describes a dispenser and method for dispensing material from a blister pack of one or more blister cards. A single blister card having a plurality of blisters thereon can be used with other blister cards in a stack. To dispense materials from the aligned blisters of stacked blister cards, a plunger is driven through a guide hole in a top plate and into aligned blisters of a stack of blister cards. In this way, a plurality of blisters can be quickly and cleanly opened. Thus, a plurality of medical pills can be liberated from the blister and can easily gravitate to a collection region below the stack of blister cards. Several embodiments of the mount for the blister card stack is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,839 to Chrystopher M. Reylea et al describes an improved exchangeable medicament dosing system and method which includes a reusable integral patent dispensing frame which supports a plurality of reusable cartridges. Replaceable blister packages having a plurality of individually sealed spaced pockets are slidably inserted into the reusable cartridge and aligned with a predetermined number of dispensing openings therewhithin. The blister packages are specifically designed to mechanically interact with the cartridge as they are slidably inserted to properly align the spaced pockets with corresponding dispensing openings of the cartridge. One or more cartridges are releasably locked at least partially within the dispensing frame, and a plurality of dispensing frames can be placed in a frame container for convenient exchange and use with medication carts. The resulting dosing system and method combines the advantages of punch card distribution with its excellent visual accountability and seal, with the benefits of a perpetual inventory exchange system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,887 to Kathleen Alek Parker et al describes a child-resistant blister package having a tray adapted to receive a blister card with at least one blister compartment is provided. The tray includes a first slide component. A cover having a top and a second slide component is provided. The second slide component is complimentary to and slidingly engaged with the first slide component. The second slide component is connected to the top of the cover such that the cover can be slidably displaced relative to the tray between the first position, in which the top of the cover substantially overlies the tray and is adapted to prevent access to the blister card, and a second position, in which the cover is displaced at least partially from the tray such that the blister card is exposed. A tab is connected to the cover, and one of a locking projection and a slot is located on the tab. The other of the slot and the locking projection is located on a first portion of the tray in a complimentary location to the locking projection when the cover is in the first position, such that the locking projection is engaged in the slot to limit relative movement of the cover with respect to the tray. One of the tab and the first portion of the tray is movable to a position in which the locking projection is disengaged from the slot to permit movement of the cover to the second position.
Notwithstanding the prior art in this field, it is believed that the present invention which teaches is neither taught nor rendered obvious.
The present invention is a child resistant safety container for a blister pack comprising a housing with at least one open side which positions and retains a drawer inserted into the open side of the housing. A latching means to engage and retain the drawer when inserted into the housing is provided which has cooperating male and female parts. One of the male and female is parts located on an outside surface of the drawer and the other part is located on the inside of the housing in a position complimentary to the outside surface the drawer and functionally operable with the latching means part on the outside surface of the drawer. A latching trigger member is slidably connected to the housing in a position to functionally connect to and actuate one of the latching means male and female parts located on the inside of the housing. The latching means includes a first resilient means to urge the drawer into engagement with the latching means and, when said drawer is pushed in against the first resilient means, moves the latching means into a first partially disengaging position. The latching trigger member then moves latching means against a second resilient means in into a second fully disengaging position allowing the drawer to be removed from the safety container.